It appears that Boeing's comments about the smoldering batteries on its 787 have annoyed the National Transportation Safety Board.

Boeing gave its own account of two battery incidents, which include a fire, at a detailed press briefing in Tokyo last week. The problem is that the NTSB is still investigating the incidents.

In a letter to Boeing, the NTSB says failure to provide advance notice of what company officials would say at the briefing is "inconsistent with our expectations" for a party to an investigation.

Boeing officials said several things at the briefing that raised eyebrows. One was the belief that there was no fire inside the battery itself in either of the two incidents. But the NTSB has never ruled out a fire.